making news in america this morning. fingers crossed. just days before the president announces his economic plan all eyes will be on today's jobs report. what will it take to get americans back to work? and then tropical threat. with hurricane irene still fresh on our minds, the gulf coast is now preparing for a massive storm that could bring up to 20 inches of rain. and feeling the need to get away, sick of the storms, wildfires and earthquakes, maybe it's time to move to the safest places in america. and good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero. we could head into the labor day weekend with some slightly better news on jobs, the august unemployment report comes out this morning.

>> experts expect to see some hiring did take place last month but the unemployment ratat will remain high. john hendren is joining us from washington with the story behind the numbers. good morning to you, john. >> reporter: good morning, rob and tanya. august began with fears that another recession was about to hit. now the stock market and unemployment are looking a little better suggesting that while the economy may still be weak it is at least growing steadily. the nation's august jobs report out this morning is expected to show another modest bump. economists expect it to say employers added 93,000 job, a boost but not enough to slash the nation's 9.1% unemployment rate. the white house says the jobs plan president obama will lay out next thursday will cut the rate and before the 2012 presidential election. >> the president will come forward with specific proposals that by any objective measure would add to growth and job creation in the short term. >> reporter: that would be good news for people like janet who's

been jobless for three yeyes, filled out 1800 applications and landed three interviews but no jobs. >> no matter how i try to make money for myself to support my family i keep hitting my head up against a brick wall. >> reporter: former labor secretary robert reich says that sets off a vicious cycle. >> businesses are not going to hire if consumers are not going to buy. >> reporter: he says the government has to be the spender of last resort. republicans argue the government spends already are likely to disagree. >> the president has to come up with a very bold jobs plan. if republicans don't go along with it, he's got to fight for it. they still continue to object, he's got to run his election on the basis of this plan. >> reporter: there has been some good news. last month americans kept shopping and manufacturing improved. just not enough to reverse the housing slump or cut unemployment and the president's plan will do that says the white

house. rob and tanya. >> john, how is congress likely to receive the president's plan? >> reporter: well, in a word, badly. 59 least in the house. it looks like a recipe for gridlock bause you just have this fundamental disagreement between the dedecrats, keynesian economics and the tax cuts and house republicans argued the last stimulus simply failed and they're unlikely to back a new one, tanya. >> not a lot of common ground there. >> abc's john hendren live in washington. as the east coast struggles to recover from irene vermont was hit with more rain. the latest downpours triggered flash floods that trapped two workers repairing a bridge. they were eventually plucked to safety by a helicopter. the white house is asking congress for more than $5 billion in additional disaster relief and doesn't include funds to cover irene.

another tropical system is threatening catastrophic flooding in the same areas haunted by hurricane irene six years ago. >> people in new orleans are preparing for the rain by stacking sandbags and clearing storm drains and the governor of louisiana has already declared a state of emergency. accuweather's gentlemen nate calle has more. >> eye irene long gone, now we have tropical depression 13 on our hands. it's sitting and spinning over the open waters of the gulf of mexico and it could become lee over the next 24 to 48 hours. nonetheless it is going to drench the northern gulf coast through the upcoming labor day weekend, new orleans itself could see up to 18 inches of rainfall which could lead to major flooding. meanwhile, katia still sitting over the open atlantic with no immediate threre to land. rob and tanya, back to you. >> i lived in new orleans for ten years. let me tell you, a lot of that city is below sea level. it's like pouring water into a

bowl. >> the last thing those people need there. >> weather from around the country. that tropical system is stirring up pretty rough surf along the florida panetta. severe storms in the midwest around chicago, green bay, milwaukee and travers city, michigan. thunderstorms from the twin cities to des moines, showers and thunderstorms in the rockies and morning fog along the pacific northwest. a mild 70 in seattle, 95 in sacramento, phoenix hits 108 and albuquerque, 88. just shy of 100 in dallas. 90s from kansas city to detroit. 79 in new york. 88 in miami. overseas now where former libyan leader moammar gadhafi is issuing some defiant new messages. broadcast from his secret hidewithout gadhafi warned that loyalist loyalists were armed and preparing for battle. he says there will be no surrender. a second audio message he accused nato of trying to occupy libya and steal its oil.

meantime, international leaders including secretary of state hillary clinton lined up in support of libya's rebel leaders. this came during a meeting in paris. she warned the reblgss to secure the weapons stockpiles that were collected by the gadhafi regime and make sure they are not used to threatenlibya's neighbors. a virginia utility company says last week's earthquake did affect sensitive parts of a nuclear power plant near the i epicenter. 25 of 27 containers holding spent fuel rods shifted up to four inches but they did not crack and no radiation was released. the reactors shut down when the plant lost power and the new information probably means it will take longer for it to get back online. > it also knocked s sres and stones off the top of the national cathedral. workers are stringing nets under the damaged roof while they make repairs. the cathedral will host a 9/11 commemorative service next sunday which president obama will attend. and now to the kind of very happy reunion that we definitely

like to see around here, a deployed dad making his way back to u.s. soil. >> father of four and chief warrant officer dwight collar gave his kids a surprise of their lives yesterday when he suddenly showed up at their san diego school. he had been away for six months on the "uss ron namenald reagan" >> he couldn't say whether it was his seventh or eighth deployment. he simply lost count. coming up next after the break with the anniversary of course, tenth year, unbelievable of 9/11 just around the corner, what government agencies are now doing to prevent another attack. you'll never guess what republicans in gabby giffords' district are giving away in a controversial raffle. and what was it that started this ugly brawl at an elementary school game? we'll have that and more when we come right back.

overseas markets are mostly down today in anticipation of today's u.s. jobs report. tokyo's nikkei average was off 110 points today. hong kong'g'hang seng is down almost 300 points and in london the ftse opened higher. meanwhile, on wall street the dow dropped 120 points yesterday, and the nasdaq index fell 33. and more trouble is expected fofomajor banks over mortgage practices. "the new york times" is reporting a lawsuit will be filed by the federal agency that oversees fannie mae and freddie mac. the suit will claim that the

banks misrepresented the quality of mortgage securititi. freddie and fanly lost more than $30 billion. there's also new trouble for netflix. it's losing starz's streaming content. netflix offered starz $300 million a year but starz wanted net tliks to charge extra for its content. the news democrats didn't want to hear. unemployment is likely to stay above 9% through next year and next year's prshlg election. the administration says economic growth and job creation just haven't been strong enough and congress should do more. meanwhile, though, many people are trying to their own economic stimulus packages, state lottery sales are booming. most states actually had higher sales this past year and 17 even set all-time records. experts say that's not surprising when the e economy i tough and people simply feel out of control. >> buy a lottery ticket.

>> why not take a stab at it. >> nothing to lose. when we coming why one country is saying the high-t-th body scanners at airports are nothing but junk. even before the first dance there is controversial brewing on abc's "dancing with the stars." roadtrip. vegas. vegas! now?! [ female announcer ] two hours to vegas. two hours to whiten. ♪ crest whitestrips two hour express. in just two hours you can have a noticeably whiter smile that lasts for months. ♪ hi. hi. where you guys headed? i think we're here. [ female announcer ] whitening without the wait. 3d white two hour express whitestrips...from crest. life opens up when you do. and try 3d white toothpaste and rinse.

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and this thick and creamy greek yogurt, so rich and full of flavor. it was a grueling trip! try new activia french and greek yogurt. a world of great new tastes. 12-foot waves in southern california are captivating beachgoers but they're now being blamed for one death. the search has been called off for a boogie boarder who vanished. the 24-year-old went into the water with three friends despite warnings that the lifeguard station was closing for the night. >> heed those warnings. morning road conditions this friday. minor flooding on parts of i-10 from houston to new orleans and tallahassee wet. also slick on i-80 from des moines to chicago and i-94 from chicago to minneapolis. wet on stretches of i-25, 40 and 70 in the southwest.

>> if you're flying airport delays are possible in new orleans, miami, houston, minneapolis and chicago. new insight this morning into the lingering health effects of 9/11. a new study finds that firefighters at ground zero have a 19% higher risk of developing cancer. >> the findings could pave the way for government payments to those suffering from specific types ofof cancer, experts say more study is needed since it takes 40 years for some tumors to develop. and security is being increase add cross the nation as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches. >> t t fbi and intelligence officials say while there is no specific threat, they're worried about a possible terror strike. pierre thomas is joining us from washington with more on what's got them worried. pierre. >> reporter: good morning, rob and tanya. abc news has learned that the fbi and intelligence agencies are ramping up security and urgently hunting for any clues of a terrorist plot as the 9/11 anniversary approaches. senior u.s. officials tell me

they are deeply concerned that radicals are desperate for a score against the u.s. meland and they are mindful that before his death, osama bin laden had repeatedly urged an anniversary attack. at the fbi, hundreds of agents in every office across the nation have been told to review all active cases and to reach out to informants for new leads. there will be stepped-up del surveillance as well. there will be a show of force with viper teams patrolling in record numbers. there will be more patrols near bus stops and subways too. ago track announced there will be more armed patrol at train station, as well. and expanded screening of bags and passengers. no specific plot has b bn identified but as you can see authorities will be on high alert, rob, tanya? >> pierre thomas, thank you. there is added controversy this morning over those new airport scanners. german officials have decided not to use the machines because there were too many false alarms. they say the machines cannot tell the difference between

underarm sweat and potentially explosive chemicals. the tsa insists the technology is the best there is right now. the repupuican party in the county that gabby giffords represents is sparking controversy over one of its get out the vote fund-raisers. they are actually raffling off a glock pistol similar to the one that was used to injure giffords in january. gun rights are pretty popular in arizona and the party has raffled weapons before but some people in both parties think the timing is pretty unfortunate. >> indeed and the producer of "dancing with the stars" is standing by chaz bono as a contestant on the show's new season. several conservative groups are protesting the c cice of a transgender person. the child of cher and sonny bono was born female but has had surgery to become a man. the producer says just 3 of 120 contestants have been gay or transgender which reflects america's diversity. prosecutors in sarasota, florida, are expecteddo file

criminal charges today after a youth football game got pretty ugly. coaches from one of the team's roughed up a referee after a disputed call and then a player tackled him. other adult as tacked the ref when he was on the ground. a spectator's video helped identify four suspects in this. in florida attacking a referee is a felony. and with the better side of sports this morning here is max pret bretos. >> a game and a half separate the red sox and yanks in the a.l. east. a.j. burn net, damaged goods. dustin pedroia, red sox up 2. 5 1/3, 4 ks. no decision. top of the second, still 2-1. sox to russell martin, drives in chris dickerson and montero.

yankees go on to win it, 4-2. just a half game eerns in the a.l. east. nfl preseason action. albert haynesworth making his debut as a patriot against the giants. first quarter, haynesworth, getting a hold of andre brown and brown not feeling too comfortable after that. haynesworth making the tackle. later in the first, first and five from the 32. the big stars get a lot of playing time. tom brady out, 5 of 9 finding matthew slater, 64-yard connect. that would lead to a ben jarvis green-ellis touchdown. in the end the giants squeak it out, 18-17. jets, jets, jets, first quart quarter, vince young looking good. he finds chad in the end zone. eagles up, 7-0. of course, the worst nightmare for teams in the final preseason games don't get any of your key players injured.

don't get anybody injured but vince young rolling out of the pocket pulls his hamstring, would leave the game. eagles would go on to win it 24-14. this has been your espn news update. for all the latest in the sports world tune in to the highlight express every night and every morning on espn news. >> i'm sticking with sports. a college athlete in alabama has come full circle proves he's very much alive and ticking and we do mean kicking. >> 61-year-old alan moore has actually earned a spot as the placekicker for falalr in university. he was on his college team way back in 1968 when he went to vietnam and right into the workforce. >> three kids, five grandkids and four decades later he is living his dream once again, good for him. that's fantastic. >> keep yourself in good shape. you never know what will come back around your way. >> the stories we'll follow today from what authorities was the case of a mysterious death at a san diego mansion. to the hearing thaha could determine the legal future of

baseball's roger clemens. his ra. the pain was so frustrating. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can feel better and do more of what i love. [ female announcer ] lyrica is not for everyone. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior, or any swelling or affected breathing or skin, or changes in eyesight, including blurry vision, or muscle pain with fever or tired feeling. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. i found answers about fibromyalgia. then i found lyrica. ask your doctor about lyrica today.

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inches of rain. san diego county sheriffs will announce their findings in two deaths at a california mansion. bizarre case. abc news has learned they believe that rebecca zahau actually committed suicide two days after a boy in her care was fatally injured in a fall. the deadline for a mideast peace deal that could pave the way to palestinian statehood but after more scattered violence involving israelis and palestinian, there is no agreement in sight. direct negotiations collapsed a year ago and new talks have not been rescheduled. prosecutors hold a hearing in washington to decide whether to try major league pitcher roger clemens again. his first trial ended in a mistrial back in july. he was charged with lying to congress about whether he actually used performance-enhancing drugs. coming up later on "good morning america," will see or won't she run for president? sarah palin could put an end to speculation this weekend with highly anticipated appearances in both iowa and new hampshire, but has waiting so long hurt her

chances? we take a look. >> for some of you now your local news is coming up next. g. but i was still taking a risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more, and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol, stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39 to 60 percent. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other memecations or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. lets go... haha. if you have high cholesterol, you may be at increased risk of heart attack and stroke. don't kid yourself. talk to your doctor about your risk and about lipitor.

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and finally from us this morning from earthquakes to hurricanes to wildfires and drought, it seems that every weather pattern has become an extreme one in the last several months, even a disaster. >> but there are a few places you might go to take shelter from the storm and abc's john berman knows where they are. >> reporter: 2011, it went hurricanes.rought, blizzards, sometimes it seems the locust can't be far off so where do you live to avoid this? well, not texas, tennis, mississippi, alabama, georgia or north carolina. the government says those states have suffered the most billion dollar weather disasters in the last 30 years. >> they have so many disasters that are potentially impactful every year. >> the most disaster-free states? ♪

well. >> hawaii would be a great place to live. >> as if you need a government scientist to tell you that but it seems to avoid most dangerous weather patterns and also alaska. sarah palin's alaska. >> you can see russia from here. almost. >> reporter: well, there's that but it has -- >> so few people and infrasasucture. >> reporter: as for the continental u.s. good news for lobsters, cars and ice cream, the three states with the fewest, maine, michigan and ironically this week at least vermont. clearly mother nature doesn't always follow government statistics and the locusts, they have to go somewhere. john berman, abc news, new york. >> i've got no problem with hawaii. >> i could definitely live the rest of my days in tropical paradise. that doesn't sound bad. >> safe and sound. >> especially after we've seen in the last few weeks. >> absolutely. >> that is what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america" and you all have a great friday.